“The first ColLab project feels exactly right,” says Sophie Brubaker, Off The Lane’s Community Coordinator and Co-Founder of ColLab. “We are inviting audiences to experience types of performances they may be less familiar with, while also giving artists of many disciplines a chance to showcase their art together.”
A Night of Spirits is the first project produced by ColLab, our newest program that serves as an experimental workshop for multidisciplinary performance pieces, the first of which being born from the mind of Ryan Gerberding.
“I was inspired by seeing a Theatre for One performance, where I was put in a box and an actor performed a short monologue,” Ryan says. “It was a very different theatrical experience from any other I’d ever had and I immediately wanted to create that level of intimacy in my own work.”
For one night only at Meaux Space, audience members will have the opportunity to view three 1-on-1 performance pieces from dancers, musicians, and actors. The audience will gather in a shared space for drinks and socializing, and then they will be individually invited to experience each of their 1-on-1 performances over the course of the night.
“Trying to create a new theatrical experience is a very daunting thing, but working with ColLab helped break it down into manageable steps and focus the original vision into what it is today,” says Ryan. “I’m hoping it will be very different to anything they’ve experienced before.”
A Night of Spirits
October 27 at Meaux Space (305 7th Ave. 17 Floor)
Tickets will be divided into 2 groups.
Space is limited
Group 1: 7pm-8:15pm
Group 2: 8:15pm-9:30pm
MEET THE TALENT
RJ CHRISTIAN
RJ Christian is a Singer, Actor, Composer-Lyricist, and TikToker. He graduated from NYU Steinhardt with a BM in Vocal Performance. During the pandemic, RJ created a musical TIkTok account (@RJtheComposer) that now has 104k followers and contributed music and lyrics to the Ratatouille TikTok Musical, a fundraiser for the Actors Fund that raised over $2 million. He also co-wrote the song “Beyond the Dome” for the musical For You Paige, the first ever TikTok Commisioned live they’re event. Currently, RJ is co-head of TheHeartyMeal, the theatre company behind Morbin’ Time: The Morbius Parody Musical. (@TheHeartyMeal)
TALIA FRIEDENBERG
Talia Friedenberg is a playwright, songwriter, director, and performer. Her one act play Become the Flowers is available for licensing with Uproar Theatrics, and her original music can be found on all streaming platforms. IG: @tal.frie
STEPHANIE NIELSEN
Stephanie Nielsen is a multidisciplinary performer from Benicia, California. She began her dance training at age seven, and has since trained in ballet, color guard, and modern techniques. She continued her dance training at the University of California, Davis, where she graduated with a B.A. in Theatre and Dance and a minor in Communications in June 2021. Throughout her education at UC Davis, Stephanie trained as an actor and singer, and has choreographed multiple original works. She is currently based out of New York City. Stephanie joined the Stoopid Dance Company, part of the TICM Dance/Theater Company, in Fall 2020 as one of its original company members.
LIZZY RYLAND
Lizzy Ryland: Playwright:Seagulls Making Love (Chelsea REP Lab), Amuse Bouche (Self-Produced), Grandmother’s Defiled Couch (Staged Reading, The Acting Studio), Trader Hoes’ (In Production), Actor: Mary Lennox (The Secret Garden, USC School of Dramatic Arts), Autolycus (The Winter’s Tale, Aeneid Theater Company), Film: Eve (May Be Unholy). B.A. USC School of Dramatic Arts. lizzyryland.com
RACHEL SABO-HEDGES
Rachel Sabo-Hedges is a Director and an Actor based in NYC. Her work is mainly centered on new works and devised creations but has most notably Assistant Directed with Hunter Foster for the Bridges of Madison County with Kate Baldwin and Aaron Lazar. Having been directed by Talia Friedenberg, she’s excited to get to work side by side with her and bring her written piece to life.
MICHAH L. YOUNG
This is Micah L.Young, and she would like all of you to know that dogs are better than humans. That’s the tweet. Anyhoo, she has recently graduated from AMDA a performing arts college for musical theatre last year. She’s still waiting for that one person to say yes but until then, cabarets and piano bars it is! She’s done a few things in background work so look out for the back of her head in Gossip Girl S2, Gilded Age S2 and Mr.&Mrs.Smith! Remember the back of this head, it’s going places!